Never Assume The Gospel
The Gospel must never be assumed. The Gospel is assumed when it is only expressed in terms of familiar slogans or buzzwords, rather than a complete, logical, sequential message of salvation that forms what every sermon, Bible study, and theological category should clearly point to and expound. What is the Gospel? It is a gift (Romans 5:15: “But the giftis not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”6:23b:“…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”), to sinful and fallen humanity (Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned;”Psalm 51:5: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me’), from God (John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”), through Jesus (Romans 5:6,8: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly”…”But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us;” 1 John 4:9-10: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”), received by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast”), Please read this very carefully: The Gospel message does not stop at this point. The Gospel includes more than we are saved by faith in Jesus. It is not just the entry-level message for salvation.
Receiving the Gospel message for salvation includes a lifelong journey of living it out every day, in every area and issue of life.Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence - continue to work out your salvation (the Gospel) with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” The Gospel is the "A to Z" of the Christian faith, not just the ABCs of becoming a Christian. We grow in our faith by believing the Gospel more deeply as time goes on, shifting reliance from self-salvation to reliance on God's grace for daily living. The Gospel is the answer to every struggle and sin in our present life. When faced with anxiety, pride, or fear, we must remind ourselves of the Gospel - preaching it to our own hearts - to overcome these issues. Instead of striving to obey simply to avoid consequences or earn approval, we obey because we are already accepted in Jesus.This is the Gospel Martin Luther was referring to when he said, “The law is divine and holy. Let the law have his glory, but yet no law, be it never so divine and holy, ought to teach me that I am justified, and shall live through it. I grant it may teach me that I ought to love God and my neighbour; also to live in chastity, soberness, patience, etc., but it ought not to show me, how I should be delivered from sin, the devil, death, and hell. Here I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teacheth me, not what I ought to do, (for that is the proper office of the law,) but what Jesus Christ the Son of God hath done for me: to wit, that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel willeth me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. It is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consisteth. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.”
Luther's point is clearly warranted, because we constantly forget the grace of God and the victory we already have in Jesus.While Christians are no longer under the law as a way to be justified or saved, in Christ, we are free to see it as a means of understanding God’s character and what pleases Him. Instead of just following the strict letter of the law to look good on the outside, the Gospel changes our desires from the inside out rather than the outside in. Instead of using religious rules to shame people into changing their external behavior, the Gospel transforms the human heart's deepest desires and motivations (Ezekiel 36:26-27: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws”). Because we know we are fully accepted by God, we are liberated to obey out of genuine affection and a desire to bring Him joy (Galatians 3:10-11). When we think we can win God’s approval through moral performance, and obedience becomes a crushing burden, then we are under law. When we learn Jesus has fulfilled the law for us and now we who believe in Him are secure in God’s love, then we naturally want to delight, resemble, and know the One who has done this. By grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are born again to a God-honoring life, restored in the image of righteousness and holiness.
What is the purpose of a life saved and living by grace? In a word: holiness. When we fully embrace God’s grace for salvation and life, grace becomes the driving force behind the pursuit for holiness. A heart taken up with God’s grace can only be overpowered, conquered, and endeared to holiness. Paul says by God’s grace “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (11 Corinthians 3:18). How does this happen? By freely turning to the law! Though Paul was not under the law he said, “I am not free from God’s law, but I am under Christ’s law” (1 Corinthians 9:21).The "law of Christ" is not a new set of rules, but the moral law of God radically fulfilled by Jesus. Rather than abolishing the law, Jesus completed its ultimate purpose, freeing Christians from relying on rule-keeping for salvation and empowering us to obey out of love for our Savior. Under the law (Law-relying): Using moral performance to earn God's approval, makes the law a crushing, impossible burden. Under Christ’s law (Law-obeying): Knowing Jesus has already fulfilled the law's demands on our behalf, the law is no longer an enemy, but a beautiful guide to freely living a life that pleases God. As the Puritan Walter Marshall beautifully said, "You need the comforts of the Gospel in order to fulfill the law."
Failing to see this leads to drifting toward "moralism" (the idea we must earn God's favor); or we never completely grasp who and what we are and have in Jesus through the Gospel. We must continually beat the Gospel into our heads and lives, because while living on this side of Heaven we remain in the “flesh” (our inherent human nature - the body as described in Romans 6 and 7), struggling with sin. Our struggle is not between a new heart and an old heart. The old self (Heart) has been crucified (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20). Our struggle is a battle between the new self (Heart) and the flesh (11 Corinthians 11:3: “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds (flesh - old self) may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (cf. Romans 8:13). These struggles are followed by Romans 8:1-4 where Paul says there is no condemnation to everyone who is in Jesus. In our struggles, we stand before God hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3). God no longer sees us as we are in the flesh, but as we are in Jesus: forgiven (Ephesians 4:32), blessed (Ephesians 1:3), accepted and beloved (Ephesians 1:6), spotless (11 Peter 3:14), blameless and holy (Colossians 1:22), and righteous (II Corinthians 5:21). So, although in the flesh we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus than we ever dared hope – both at the very same time. This means the more we see our issues, struggles, and sins in light of the Gospel, and who we are in Jesus, the more valued and amazing God’s grace and the Gospel appears to us. On the other hand, the more aware we are of God’s grace and acceptance in Jesus, the more able we are to drop our denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of our sin. This is the meaning of Romans 2:4 where Paul says the kindness – grace – of God leads to repentance. Embracing this we are free to stop relying on our own performance to feel accepted, and to rest in God’s unearned grace.
Everything needed for salvation and life is accomplished by the finished work of Jesus (John 19:30). At the moment of salvation God takes us to the finish line and tells us we are there. We start the Christian life where Jesus finished. Verses, like 1 Corinthians 9:24 and Hebrews 12:1-2 are not describing the Christian life as a race we run to win. They are not suggesting we must cross the finish line to win the victory. Instead, we begin our race at the finish line where Jesus finished (John 19:30). We do not start from defeat, trying to get to victory. We start the race from the finish line; we go from victory to victory. We do not go from defeat to victory, or from trying to win to winning.We run the race from victory to victory. We run the race in light of the victory we already have in the finished work of Jesus. We run out of our secured victory rather than constantly trying to earn it. 1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:37: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Proverbs 21:31: “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.”
In the movie Ben Hur, the director wanted Charlton Heston - the star of the movie - to learn to drive the chariot himself, rather than just using a stunt double. Heston agreed to take chariot-driving lessons to make the movie as authentic as possible. Learning to drive a chariot with horses four abreast, however, was no small matter. After extensive work and days of practice, Heston returned to the movie set and reported, “I think I can drive the chariot all right, Cecil,” said Heston, “but I’m not at all sure I can actually win the race.” Smiling, the director said, “Heston, you just stay in the race, and I will make sure you win.” Through the means of grace - Bible study and reading, prayer, worship, the sacraments, confession and repentance - by the power of the Holy Spirit, we live out from the victory we already have in Jesus, through the Gospel, not for the victory. Many believe salvation is by faith, but it is by works that we run to victory and continue to earn and keep God’s love and acceptance. This is the teaching of religion. Religion says, “I obey; therefore, I’m accepted.” The Gospel says, “I am accepted; therefore, I obey. The Gospel says, “I obey God to get God – to delight in and resemble Him.” The truth is, the more we see Jesus and His love, His forgiveness, His abundant grace, and His righteousness purchased for us with His own blood, the more we will be transformed into His image.
This means God is never disappointed with us – even when we sin. Let this sink in: God can look at our sin through a "narrow lens" - where He is grieved by our sin - and simultaneously through a "wide-angle lens" - where He is infallibly working all things, including our failures, into His overarching redemptive plan. Understanding this security does not make us want to sin more. Instead, realizing God's plan is bigger than our failures create a deep sense of relief, gratitude, a desire to change an daily repentance. God is never surprised or caught off guard by our sin. He does not experience disappointment the way we do. Because of the perfect record and sacrifice of Jesus, God’s acceptance of us is unshakeable, and His love is not based on our performance. God's love for us, in Jesus, is based on what He did, not what we do; it cannot go up or down based on our daily failures. If we believe God is disappointed in us when we mess up, it often means we secretly believed God was pleased with us when we were "doing good." Both are incorrect; God's pleasure rests wholly in Jesus, in whom He is well pleased. When we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us to draw us closer to repentance (the act whereby we see and experience afresh who we are in Jesus). Satan uses sin and condemnation to drive us away from God in shame and guilt. God knows us completely and with unrelenting affection. We never surprise Him when we do good or bad. God knew we were going to be messy. He knew we were going to be drawn to things we should not be drawn to. He knew we were going to stumble and fall. And yet, in Jesus, God delights in us. Psalm 103:10-13: “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” God is never frustrated with us. He grieves for us but not about us. God never regrets saving us. God is not waiting for some better version of us to love. This is the case because God never sees us apart from who we are in Christ – in whom He is well pleased (Matthew 3:17). As an early Church Father put it: “Behold the One [God] beholding you and smiling.”
Sadly, ministers have the habit of telling us all we need and must do to earn and keep God’s love and acceptance. We are told to do more, run faster, and pray harder. And yet, Jesus simply tells us, “Come to me and I will give you rest” – not something to do. The rest Jesus gives is not laziness; it is trust. It is acknowledging Jesus' finished work is enough. The Gospel is the "good news" of what has already been done for us by Jesus, rather than "good advice," telling us what we must do. Jesus’ invitation is a call to drop the heavy, exhausting burdens of self-justification, legalism, and the need to constantly prove our worth. This is good news for spiritual and religious workaholics who try to earn what they already have and are in Jesus by faith (1 Corinthians 15:10). Seeking to earn and gain what we already have and are in Jesus only creates fear, frustration, anger, pride, depression, and weariness. With so many programs, assignments, and standards there is no room or time for rest. The Gospel was never meant to be exhausting or frustrating. God wants our hearts not our behavior. God’s love is not conditional. Our love for God fluctuates but His love for us remains constant. Jeremiah 31:3: “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
Some will think this is too much emphasis on grace. Most Christians seem to think of God’s grace only in terms of His disposition, temperament, attitude, or the inclination to treat us better than we deserve. I still remember as a youth being taught grace was an acronym for “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” This is certainly true; but grace is also God’s power that changes things. God’s saving grace is also a living, constant, beautiful, powerful, and transformative presence in our lives. God’s grace, in addition to His inclination to act towards us in a certain way, is His active power or the influence or the force, which produces real, practical outcomes in our lives, enabling us to freely desire to do His will and obey His commands. In a survey 5,000 Christians from across the country were asked to give three definitions of the grace of God. Overwhelmingly, the top answers were forgiveness, salvation, a free gift, and the love of God. Less than two percent said God’s grace is empowerment. This indicates 98 percent of Christians are trying to live Godly and holy lives in their own strength and not by God’s grace. Grace is not merely unmerited favor or a license to sin, but also the divine empowerment that enables us to live in genuine obedience and transforms us through ongoing repentance (Titus 2:11-12; Romans 2:4). We must stop focusing on our sin.
Saved by grace alone, through faith alone, all we must do today and every day, until we die is to see continually, believe continually, and assure ourselves continually our obedience does makes us righteous, nor does our disobedience make us less righteous; for Jesus is our righteousness (11 Corinthians 5:21). If by faith, through the means of grace, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we believe and receive this truth, we will experience the victory in Jesus we already have. This is beautifully expressed in the chorus of the hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus…Look full in His wonderful face…And the things of earth will grow strangely dim… In the light of His glory and grace” (Hebrews 12:2).
Tom Anderson
